Since the second term of fiscal 1995 NACSIS has been conducted a research survey entitled “Asian Information on the Asian Information Superhighway” (project leader: Dr. Kinji ONO) and funded by a grant from The Japan Foundation Asia Center. This research activity is being conducted in cooperation with the ongoing grant-in-aid research/international scientific research project “Study on Demand and Supply of Japanese Scholarly Information Abroad” (project leader: Prof. Hitoshi INOUE), the research project “Joint Study of International Exchange of Academic Information” (project leader: Dr. Kinji ONO), which concluded during the last fiscal year, and the Thailand research project “Joint Study of International Exchange and Sharing of Academic Information” (project leader: Dr. Kinji ONO), which is scheduled to get underway soon.

This research funded by the Asia Center is referred to by the name ÒAsia Information SurveyÓ within NACSIS. Thailand was selected as the partner country for the first stage of the project. Survey work concentrated on demand in Thailand for information about Japan and demand in Japan for information about Thailand, and an attempt was made to identify problems related to the distribution of information and suggest possible solutions. The results of this work have been published in annual reports, a portion of which has also been made available on the World-Wide Web.

Fiscal 1997 was the third year of the project. Work was undertaken to continue the projects begun in the first and second years, and their scope was broadened. Specifically, the following items were undertaken.

(1) Survey of demand for information among Japanese scholars doing research in Asia

(2) Training of Japanese scholars doing research in Thailand and library staff

(3) Monitoring of usage of NACSIS-IR and reference copying services

(4) Survey related to the building of a general catalog of Japanese-language materials stored in Thailand

(5) Survey of information on the Thai language available on networks

Of the above activities, the training in item (2) involved inviting candidates from Thailand to Japan in September of 1997 for instruction in methods of obtaining information. In addition, training sessions were held in Bangkok at Chulalongkorn University, Thammasat University, and Kasetsart University in December of 1997. Item (3), the monitoring of usage of NACSIS-IR and reference copying services, involved services that have undergone usage testing since fiscal 1996. With the cooperation of university libraries in Japan, research information is supplied to Thai scholars. Item (4), the building of a general catalog of Japanese-language materials stored in Thailand, is being undertaken at the Japan Culture Center in Bangkok. The results of item (5), the survey of information on the Thai language, is now available on an information server (http://thaigate.rd.nacsis.ac.jp/) that is being utilized by persons in Thailand and Japan, as well as the U.S.A., Australia, and other countries.

This research survey has produced impressive results related to the establishment of methods for promoting the distribution of information between Japan and Thailand. In particular, it has marked a step forward in the creation of an environment that allows Japanese scholars working in Thailand to obtain and use information related to Japan, and the creation of an environment that allows Thai scholars working in Japan to obtain and use information related to Thailand.

NACSIS extends its profound thanks to The Japan Foundation and to everyone who has provided assistance to this project.